“The strategic navy (lực lượng hải quân chiến lược) of the Islamic Republic of Iran has passed through the Suez Canal for the second time since the (1979) Islamic Revolution,” Sayari said in remarks quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

He did not say how many vessels had crossed (đi qua) the canal, or what missions (nhiệm vụ) they were planning to carry out in the Mediterranean, but said the flotilla (hạm đội, đoàn tàu chiến) had previously docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.

Sayari said the naval deployment to the Mediterranean (vùng địa trung hải) would show “the might” of the Islamic republic to regional countries, and also convey (truyền đạt, chuyển tải) Tehran’s “message of peace and friendship.”

The first Iranian presence in the Mediterranean in February 2011 provoked (gây ra) strong reactions from Israel and the United States, with the Jewish state putting its navy on alert (đặt … trong tình trạng báo động).